Survival of Patients with Ovarian Cancer

Data from 282 patients who were first treated for epithelial ovarian malignoma at the Institute of Oncology and Gynecological clinic in Ljubljana between 1990 and 1992 were analysed retrospectively. The patients were followed through 1997. The survival rates were determinated by Kaplan­Meier method. For establishment of hazard ratios Cox analysis was used. The five-year survival rates for different prognostic factors are as follows: 74 % for borderline patients and 38 for patients with carcinomas; by stage (I-IV) 88, 48, 26 and 12 %; by cancer grades (1-3) 69, 49, 26 %, respectively. Concerning age 50 older patients survive five years in 31 %, but younger in 61 %. The group with the diameter of residual implants after surgery smaller then 1 cm has 73 % five-year survival, but the other group 18 %. After multivariate analysis the prognostic factors which were still significant are: stage, age high­er then 50, the diameter of residual implants after first surgery greater than 1 cm, and type of pri­mary treatment for the whole cohort and the one of higher stages (III and IV) The type of prima­ry treatment was not significant for the group with the lower stages (I and II) of cancer. An understanding of the influence of these prog­nostic factors on the survival rate in epithelial ovarian malignoma offers the opportunity to sur­vey the situation in Slovenia and to compare our cohort with those in cancer centres throughout the world.